Kershaw Manifold and Starter arrived!

These suckers are well built. Good feel/heft.  They’re not as smooth of a construction/casting as the Cryos, some rougher edges and machining, blade grind finishes, etc. But Honestly, some of that might be intentional with the rustic/weathered designs, black wash etc…  :unsure:  

They’re well worth the $22 each that I paid though, and honestly having handled them, I’d Probably pay the next step up for them, $10 to $15 more, especially if the steel turns out to work just as well as the 8cr13mov does 🙂

My only complaint is that some jerk at Kershaw decided that right hand tip up and Any left handed clip position are apparently not useful…   Will be testing my skill at drilling and tapping some holes in steel liners soon 😉

With my Cryo;  Actually a Significant size difference!!

But carrying the Manifold all day, even though its so much longer, and a tad heavier than the cryo, I never felt it in my pocket!

In a way I think it actually disappears more than my modded Cryos, since they are a tad thick with the acrylic overlay scales and I can feel them in my pocket a little more readily than a stock, thin, Cryo.

The way the Cryo fits my hand, which I have always liked(and still do)

And the way the new ones fit my hand; A lot bigger, but the proportions are fantastic, they are still easy and secure to grip, and EXTREMELY comfortable!

There is very little difference in the style, shape and grip of these two visually. But its a big difference in the hand; I really prefer the feel of the Manifold(which is great, since I prefer frame locks anyway  )  The Starter IS still extremely comfortable too… the Manifold just edges out on top for me.

They both flip smooth, but were a little weak springed it seemed at first. After a day of carry and opening for use, and just playing around with it for ~10 minutes the manifold has really smoothed up more, and now snaps with some authority. Still not quite the solid THUNK the Cryos have, but I think it will break in a bit more and get there.

Same with the lock, its sticky now, but getting better.  For those that care; its an early lockup, but its solid. I never really give a darn about early or late, as long as it does lock up, which this does!